China Is Building a Giant City on Four Man-Made Islands

China is building a giant city on four man-made islands in Malaysia. The developer, Country Garden, bills the new metropolis as "a dream paradise for all mankind." The city will be called Forest City and it will accommodate more than 700,000 citizens. That’s roughly 20,000 more than the population of Washington D.C.  

[Image Source: Sasaki]

Construction of the $100 billion islands began in early 2016 and recent footage from the site shows just what is in store. There is still a lot to do though. The city isn’t expected to be completed until 2040. But once finished, the city will be fully equipped with office buildings, parks, public transport network, hotels, restaurants, shops, schools, and 250,000 housing units. 

[Image Source: Sasaki]

There is concern that the city will go the way of many new Chinese mega cities and become a ghost town. It is reported that almost 60 home investors have pulled out of the project. The lack of commitment to the initial quality of the project is one reason for doing so. More than 500 so called ghost cities have been created in China since the 1970’s. The cities are built for a demand that doesn’t exist. Often the cities are funded by the government who plans to move 2 million citizens to rural areas in an effort to combat poverty and to increase modernization.  

[Image Source: Sasaki]

In 2016 only 15,000 of the 250,000 residential units available at Forest City had been sold. While still totally about $2.6 billion in sales, it may not be enough to make the venture a success.  

[Image Source: Sasaki]

The site's master plan was designed by the international interdisciplinary design firm, Sasaki. They describe Forest City as “a new global cluster of commerce and culture. Designed to cultivate a live/work lifestyle, it is comprised of financial institutions, technology and biotech research facilities, and a variety of creative industries that will establish an innovative and sustainable employment base providing an estimated 220,000 new jobs in southern Malaysia.”

[Image Source: Sasaki]

Renders on the firm's website reveal the multi-layer design approach that places parking and transport below street level to add to the green ecological vision of the new islands. Technically the project is very complex. Designing and constructing new land stable enough for the massive building expected to happen on the site is challenging. Sasaki provides some detail about the way they have designed the edge of the islands to meet the water using a method that mimics what would naturally occur in this region.

[Image Source: Sasaki]

The edges of the islands are a mix of tidal sea pools, mangrove forests, urban promenades and ecological breakwaters.

The project may also run into some advertising problems as it goes up against another new city project also called Forest City. The other Forest City will be built in Southern China and is comprised of more than 70 buildings including homes, hospitals, retail spaces, schools and offices that will house 30,000 people. The plans for this city come from Italian architectural firm Stefano Boeri Architetti, famous for his integration of buildings and trees. The completed city will be home to 40,000 trees and more than a million plants.

Sources: BusinessInsider, Sasaki

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